China holds F-35 stealth parts after shipment mysteriously rerouted to Hong Kong
A UPS shipment of F-35 cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door parts meant for U.S. repair ended up in Hong Kong, and Beijing has not returned them.
What to know
- Sensitive F-35 stealth parts — a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door — were diverted from an Australia-to-U.S. repair shipment and ended up in Hong Kong, where China's government now holds them.
- The diversion happened in late May but was reported by Politico in September and confirmed by Bloomberg, well after congressional staff were first briefed in June.
- The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin say they are trying to retrieve the parts and investigate how the rerouting occurred; it is unclear whether China will return them.
- The story surfaced publicly as President Trump hosted Xi Jinping in Washington, adding to lawmakers' concerns about U.S. technology access being traded away in diplomacy with China.
The dispute Whether the diversion was innocent bureaucratic failure or reflects deliberate/deferential handling of China. · positions read across 27 posts and comments
This reflects gross negligence and incompetence in handling classified military shipments.
-
“having worked in enough of the gov contracting sphere - and having held a security clearance - ... I can assure you that there is a stack of paperwork at least …”
munin@infosec.exchange · Mastodon ↗
The diversion may be deliberate or reflects a broader pattern of deference to Chinese interests.
-
“Maybe we could hope that the parts were intentionally diverted as a Trojan to sabotage weapon development? Or at the very least waste resources spent on reverse engineering?”
Velvet_Re · Reddit ↗
The story and its coverage are being mocked for their redundancy and absurdity.
-
“Diverted China Took Diverted Possession of Diverted F-35 Stealth Fighter Parts Diverted to Hong Kong fixed that for ya”
ionC2 · Reddit ↗
Lockheed Martin F-35 manufacturerF-35 Joint Program Office / Office of the Secretary of War Pentagon program officeChinese government Current holder of the diverted partsU.S. Congress (national security committees) Investigating lawmakers
Elissa Slotkin U.S. Senator (D-MI)
Donald Trump U.S. President
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideospostscomments
-
4
Reports emerge as Trump meets Xi Jinping in Washington
CBS News noted the diversion details surfaced publicly just as President Trump was hosting China's Xi Jinping for a summit, adding a diplomatic dimension to the security incident.
“There are reports that a shipment of missing F-35 parts ended up in China's hands. The details are emerging as President Trump meets with China's Xi Jinping.”
— CBS News -
first by Orlando Sentinel, 16h ago · also CBS News, Baltimore Sun, Mercury News, The Hindu, Spectrum News, AP News +4
1 more headline
- Pentagon probing how shipment of F-35 fighter jet parts was diverted CBS News · 8h ago
-
C
The Pentagon is investigating how a shipment of F-35 fighter jet parts on its way to the U.S. from overseas was diverted to China, and the military is now trying to retrieve the parts, a defense official confirmed to CBS News. A source briefed on the incident told CBS News a shipment was diverted to Hong Kong. According to Bloomberg News, the…
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
-
If you’re referring to the Huggingface attack, that was just an agent prompting an LLM over and over. Basically it asked “I need to retrieve this protected file from this server. How do I do it?”. Then the LLM gave it a list of steps. The agent executed the first step, then reported back with the results and asked what to do next. This went on for…
-
I'm not sure what you think you're implying there. It has no bearing on what I said. Assuming the most sensible interpretation an AI would need to turn itself into a virus that forces some other hardware to run it but that's still virtually impossible and has absolutely no staying power whatsoever. Say an AI breaks containment or whatever. Then…
-
-
3
Senators voice broader security concerns tied to F-35 and China
On Bloomberg's Balance of Power, Sen. Elissa Slotkin warned President Trump against striking deals with Xi that would ease Chinese access to sensitive U.S. technology, discussing the F-35 episode in that context.
-
first by NY Post, 1d ago · also The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, NDTV, Independent UK, Firstpost, Tom's Hardware +1
6 more headlines
- China holding F-35 jet parts diverted to Hong Kong after leaving Australia The Age · 1d ago
- China holding sensitive F-35 jet parts diverted to Hong Kong after leaving Australia Sydney Morning Herald · 1d ago
- F-35 Stealth Jet Parts Bound For US Diverted To Hong Kong, Now With China NDTV · 1d ago
- F-35 stealth jet parts diverted to Hong Kong in major security blunder Independent UK · 22h ago
- Have America's F-35 stealth fighter jet parts ended up in China? Firstpost · 22h ago
- China swiped F-35 stealth fighter parts that were diverted through Hong Kong Tom's Hardware · 18h ago
-
S
#hegseth Signal is secure and China needs F35 parts. Admin ExSquid
2 more of the top 3 · 13 posts in this stretch
-
T
The Chinese government has taken possession of potentially sensitive F-35 stealth aircraft parts that were inexplicably diverted to Hong Kong while being sent to the U.S. from Australia. https://www. japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/09/ 24/asia-pacific/china-f-35-parts-hong-kong/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon # asiapacific # china # defense #…
-
I agree it is stupid to have a kill switch when everything gets leaked or figured out eventually and your enemy could shut down your planes. But that doesn't mean someone wasn't stupid enough to do it still. Or there is some hack that does basically the same thing, can brick critical computer controls or something via remote.
-
-
2
Bloomberg reports China's government now holds the parts
Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government has taken possession of the diverted parts and has not returned them, citing people briefed on the incident.
“The Chinese government has taken possession of potentially sensitive F-35 stealth aircraft parts that were inexplicably diverted to Hong Kong while being sent to the US from Australia, people briefed on the incident said.”
— Bloomberg -
first by Seeking Alpha, 1d ago · also Bloomberg, Japan Times
4 more headlines
- Pentagon Investigating How F-35 Fighter Jet Parts Bound for US Were Diverted to Hong Kong Military.com · 1d ago
- Watch China Is Holding Sensitive F-35 Parts Diverted to Hong Kong Bloomberg · 1d ago
- China reportedly holds F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong theweek.com · 1d ago
- China holding sensitive F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong Japan Times · 1d ago
-
2 outlets Chinese Government in Possession of F-35 Parts that Were Mistakenly Diverted to Hong Kong: Report
first by Mediaite, 1d ago · also CNBC
1 more headline
-
The Chinese have acquired a shipment of F-35 parts that was mistakenly routed through Hong Kong -Bloomberg The shipment, now in Chinese government hands, includes a cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door.
2 more of the top 3 · 10 posts in this stretch
-
M
having worked in enough of the gov contracting sphere - and having held a security clearance - and having paid any fucking attention to how you treat classified materials - and having paid any fucking attention to how you -ship- classified materials - and having paid any attention to what materials count as classified - and having paid any…
-
Gripen can't be remotely disabled They can be quite easily remotely disabled by missiles launched from hundreds of kilometers away by opposition aircraft they can't even detect. Every air force in the world is now fielding air to air missiles with 300-500km range. So flying ancient jets that every radar within a 1000 km can easily detect probably…
-
-
1
Pentagon and Lockheed Martin respond, say they are working to retrieve parts
The F-35 Joint Program Office said it is 'actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components,' while Lockheed Martin defended its shipment safeguards.
“We are actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence.”
— F-35 Joint Program Office -
background
Politico reveals the diversion, triggering a Pentagon investigation — Politico first reported that F-35 parts bound for U.S. repair had been rerouted from Australia to Hong Kong, prompting lawmakers on Capitol Hill to launch an inquiry into how classified technology ended up there.
-
background
State Department and Pentagon brief congressional staff on the shipment issue — According to Politico's sourcing, U.S. officials first briefed congressional staff on the diverted shipment in June, with further briefings expected in subsequent weeks.
-
background
UPS shipment of F-35 stealth parts is diverted to Hong Kong — A cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door from an Australian F-35, shipped by UPS on behalf of Lockheed Martin for inspection, repair or disposal in the U.S., is rerouted over the Pacific to Hong Kong instead.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
-
first by Bloomberg Politics, 12h ago · also Daily Wire, Bloomberg, Straits Times
1 more headline
- China Obtains F-35 Stealth Parts After Shipment ‘Inexplicably Diverted’ To Hong Kong Daily Wire · 11h ago
-
first by Al Jazeera, 16h ago · also Agence France-Presse
-
first by The Times of India, 1d ago · also India Today
1 more headline
- The big F-35 jet mystery: Parts bound for US, missing in Hong Kong, seized by China India Today · 1d ago
-
first by Hindustan Times, 22h ago
1 more headline
- F-35 parts headed for US now in Chinese possession: Big jet mystery looms ahead of Trump-Xi talks Hindustan Times · 22h ago
and 2 smaller pieces
What people are saying 15 voices from 3 sites · best of 27 · verbatim
- How exactly did the shipment get rerouted from Australia to Hong Kong?
- Will China return the parts, and can the U.S. verify whether they were copied?
- Who is responsible within the shipping/supply chain — UPS, Lockheed, or a subcontractor?
- Yesterday
-
I hate McConnell and wife as much as anyone but to be fair it's in the opposite order...China seized this in May, she was in China on June 12, he fell down and lost consciousness which kicked off this health situation on June 14
-
I know of at least two large military powers that thought of their opponents they couldn’t produce quality at scale. Both rued their misassessment.
-
The F135 engine is absolutely critical. Being the single most powerful and the most fuel-efficient jet engine ever fitted to a fighter aircraft, is one of the (if not the ) most important bits that make the F-35 an exceptional aircraft with no real "eastern" counterpart.
-
A
“U.S. military sends top-secret F-35 parts by UPS from Australia. China intercepts package in Hong Kong, won't give it back.” 🤪 https:// bsky.app/profile/gabekahn.bsky .social/post/3mw7rl4tdyc2u
-
Thank you for the well-sourced information. This is a great summary. I am always ready to fly in from the top rope to showcase this sketchy woman. Then with your permission, I will summon you by username the next time Elaine Chao is being discussed.
-
ask hegseth, or he probably has more important things on his mind like how tall the pilots are or if their shirts were ironed correctly
-
Yea, every country may do it. But China seems to do it far more than anybody else. And being a "free society" it seems like were always going out of our way to hold the ladder for them. I'm sure Trump's people will be right on it once they're done firing all the black & women admirals & generals.
- Sep 23
-
Maybe we could hope that the parts were intentionally diverted as a Trojan to sabotage weapon development? Or at the very least waste resources spent on reverse engineering?
-
NATIONAL SECURITY: THE STORY JUST CHANGED. Sensitive F-35 components were diverted from Australia to Hong Kong. Now Bloomberg reports: CHINESE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES HAVE THEM. The shipment reportedly includes an F-35 cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door. The canopy matters.
-
Is it acceptable to apply Hanlons Razor to governments and world leaders? Surely there are enough systems in place to mean corruption or deception must be playing a part in this.
-
BREAKING: The Chinese government has taken possession of potentially sensitive F-35 stealth aircraft parts that were inexplicably diverted to Hong Kong while being sent to the US from Australia by UPS, per Bloomberg.
-
G
Oops.. https://www. politico.com/news/2026/09/18/c ongress-f-35-china-investigation-01083647
-
China has taken possession of sensitive F-35 stealth parts that were diverted to Hong Kong while being shipped from Australia to the U.S., and has not returned them. A cockpit canopy and weapons-bay door were shipped by UPS in late May for inspection and possible repair. The
-
🚨🇺🇸🇨🇳 F-35 stealth parts headed to America from Australia ended up in Hong Kong instead The shipment held a cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door from an Australian jet, sent in late May for inspection and possible repair or disposal, and somewhere along the way it got rerouted
-
U.S. F35 stealth parts were accidentally shipped to China. China is refusing to return them, and copying every single part of the top secret planes.